Kansas Supreme Court to take up cases fueling ouster efforts

The Kansas Supreme Court is considering a rule that would require records related to the selection of nominees for the high court and other judgeships to be made public.

Now that Kansas voters have decided against removing any state Supreme Court justices, the court will turn its attention to cases involving education funding, capital punishment and abortion that led critics to try to remake the court.

Efforts to remove four of the seven justices started with critics of past rulings overturning death sentences in capital murder cases.

The justices plan to hear arguments in December in the case of a man sentenced to die for killing his estranged wife and three other family members in northeast Kansas.

Abortion opponents and conservative Republicans also wanted to remove the justices ahead of major rulings on abortion and school funding cases.

The court has yet to hear the abortion case, but a ruling on education funding is expected by early next year.